NASIC aids in Haitian relief efforts

  • Published
  • By Jim Lunsford
  • National Air and Space Intelligence Center Public Affairs
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio --  More than 1,500 miles from Port-au-Prince, Haiti, members from the National Air and Space Intelligence Center Open Skies Media Processing Facility, based here, helped recovery efforts following the recent earthquake.

Relief operations officials in Haiti are using film developed at NASIC to make relief and recovery efforts safer and more effective.

Early on Jan. 16 the Open Skies OC-135B aircraft flew over Haiti, taking panoramic black and white images from 15,000 feet over the stricken country. The aircraft returned to Wright Patterson at 6 p.m. and personnel from the NASIC Open Skies Media Processing Facility unloaded and began processing eight large film canisters, totaling nearly 10,000 linear feet of film.

Processing operations didn't complete until 2 a.m. the next morning, and the processed negatives and detailed black and white images were then passed to the Open Skies program manager through the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency early Sunday morning.

"I am proud of the in-depth expertise we have here at NASIC," said Col D. Scott George, NASIC commander, regarding the quick response by OSMPF personnel. "When disaster strikes and the military is asked to help out, NASIC is always standing by to help improve U.S. operations."

Mr. Dave Whiting, the OSMPF flight chief, oversaw the processing operation at NASIC and felt there was still more his people could do to help. The black and white images provided excellent detail of damages and best avenues of approach for rescue and relief efforts, but he knew people couldn't wait for hard copies to be mailed out. So, he directed an additional copy of the film be made and turned into digital images. He knew digital images would be the quickest way to share information with mission partners who needed them most.

This initiative proved prophetic when the NASIC 24/7 Control Center received a call from the Pentagon late Sunday. Gen. Norton Schwartz, Air Force Chief of Staff, wanted images from the OC-135B flight provided for his early morning senior planning meeting the next day, and OSMPF imagery engineer Eric Scholl had them to the Pentagon by 2 a.m.
The OSMPF continues push forward for Haiti support operations with the creation of a program making it easier for mission partners to receive digital copies of the Open Skies photos. This digital processing, tailored to the needs of relief planners, is on-going as OSMPF personnel continue to field requests from SOUTHCOM, AFSOUTH and other US government agencies assisting in Haiti.

Throughout the year, the OSMPF develops and processes images collected as a part of the Open Skies Treaty verification process, but in times of crisis, the OSMPF is often called on the help out.

In the summer of 2005, following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, OSMPF provided similar support to aid rescuers in Louisiana. The 2005 efforts are similar to the efforts NASIC is currently accomplishing for operations in Haiti.

NASIC is part of the Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Agency, headquartered at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas.